Schiit Tyr Monoblock Amplifier Reviews and Impressions

Discussion in 'Power Amps' started by AllanMarcus, Apr 3, 2022.

  1. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    I've thought the same thing. I'd be open to a 100 WPC stereo amp with special sauce that's $1600, but a pair of Tyrs is beyond my budget. I love the way my Aegir sounds but I can make it go into protection right at the point where stuff starts to get fun. Or I'd even be happy with a 50 WPC amp that sounds like an Aegir. I just know that as a midpoint, I wouldn't be happy with the sound of the current Vidar despite it having enough power.
     
  2. ald0s

    ald0s Facebook Friend

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    If I was happy with 50WPC I'd probably try the Ragnarok 2, have you given it a thought? I drive a pair of Larsen 4.2s and even at 88db sensitivity they still feel strained until I hit around 100wpc.
     
  3. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    Ragnarok 2 is an integrated, and it's a different amp design than an Aegir. I don't want an integrated and I don't want to downgrade the sound I already have. My main speakers are 96dB efficient and 4 ohms. So 40 WPC is more than enough 98% of the time. In theory, something like a 50W Aegir (into 8 ohms) would end up being somewhere close to 100 WPC into 8 ohms so that would have me covered for most cases. But I also occasionally rotate in some speakers that are in the low 90s efficiency which is where a stereo amp thats midway between an Aegir and Tyr, but sounds like an Aegir or Tyr would eliminate the need for me to upgrade amplifiers for a long time.
     
  4. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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  5. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    I thought about that but my speakers are 4 ohm.
     
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  6. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Hmm, I'm guessing the woofers are parallel 8 ohms? I suppose rewiring into series would mess up the crossover.
     
  7. trashschollie

    trashschollie New

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    my speakers Buchardt S 400 mk 2 has 4ohm too.
    No problems with 2x aegir mono.

    Depends on the size of your room.
     
  8. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

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    And you also have to consider it also changes the harmonic distortion profile so bridged mono aegirs lose some of that single stereo Aegir sweetness that you may have come to like.
     
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  9. GoldenYear

    GoldenYear New

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    The pair of Tyrs arrived earlier than expected. Some impressions after 24 hours of listening.

    My previous setup is Schiit Yggdrasil OG > Schiit Ragnarok 1 (via balanced XLR; max gain setting at 20db) > KEF LS50 Meta + KEF KC62 sub.

    My Tyr setup is Schiit Yggdrasil OG > Schiit Freya+ (differential mode; via balanced XLR) > Schiit Tyr (balanced XLR) > KEF LS50 Meta + KEF KC62 sub.

    The immediate difference is extraordinary, even for a setup line mine with less than ideal near-field speaker positioning (on a desk next to my computer monitor), about 90cm apart, with me sitting about 60cm from the speakers. This is the compromise I make given my living situation.

    The forward midrange and soundstaging of the LS50 Meta got even better, with vocals being more intimate and lifelike. Bass extension is apparent, and the microdetail and separation is head and shoulders above the Ragnarok. As it should be of course, since we are comparing a $1500 integrated amp to $3200 monoblocks, but the difference is stark even when I'm not actively listening for them. LS50 Meta needs a lot of power, and the Tyr really makes them come alive.

    These impressions come at my usual listening levels of 60-75db, which seems relatively low to other people here. This is owing to my nearfield setup, my living situation, and my general preference to listen at lower volumes. Ragnarok had always struck me as sluggish and lacking detail at low listening levels with limited dynamic range, but I can confirm Tyr remains punchy and detailed at the above levels on a relative basis. This is a big upgrade, but again maybe not saying much compared to the Ragnarok.
     
  10. GoldenYear

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    Some further observations after a week of listening.

    As mentioned, my Tyr setup is Schiit Yggdrasil OG > Schiit Freya+ (differential mode; via balanced XLR) > Schiit Tyr (balanced XLR) > KEF LS50 Meta + KEF KC62 sub.

    RE: Tyr, Freya+ as preamp and Powered Subwoofer Combo
    I had some issues running my powered subwoofer alongside the Tyrs using Freya+ single-ended RCA outs. The base gain on the Tyrs is so substantially higher than my powered sub (KEF KC62) that connecting the sub to Freya+ as preamp and maxing out the volume knob on the powered sub was not sufficient power to achieve the right balance of bass with the Tyrs and LS50 Metas. After much troubleshooting and involving Schiit customer service, the solution was to use high-level speaker inputs (by directly attaching to Tyr) on the powered sub instead of using a low-level single-ended RCA line in from Freya+ as preamp. For posterity, the single-ended RCA preamp outs on the Freya+ run at about half the voltage as the balanced XLR out, but even accounting for this difference was not enough to balance the subwoofer response. The internet seems to deem connecting a powered sub via high-level speaker inputs a taboo, but know this may be your only solution depending on your combo. For the KC62 specifically, you'll need to use the included Phoenix-type connector (or buy some off Amazon), which you'll need to wire yourself with a max gauge of 12 awg (10 awg does not work, ask me how I know).

    Running the powered subs out of the Tyr really tightened the bass response from the KC62s. The difference is remarkable, even if the sub is attenuating the signal back to line level and then re-amping it.

    RE: Tyr LS50 Meta (Passive) vs LS50 Meta Wireless II
    After running about 100 hours, I think what really stands out is effortlessness of the dynamics and details. I'm noticing new things in my recordings that were plainly just not there with the Ragnarok 1.

    I also had a chance to pit the Tyr + LS50 Meta against the LS50 Meta Wireless II, which I had also considered as an all-in-one solution. The Tyr combo beats the Wireless II in detail and dynamics hands down. Which of course, it should for the price. What is remarkable is that you can squeeze more performance out of the LS50 Meta passives with the right amplification.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2022
  11. Pancakes

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    The internet is often wrong. There are pluses and minuses to everything because engineering is an exercise in compromise.
     
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  12. supertransformingdhruv

    supertransformingdhruv Almost "Made"

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    Wild to me that people say not to do this. I've always been under the impression that you could only properly integrate subs using the high-level inputs, but maybe I've been drinking the REL koolaid. They literally talk about using high-level inputs before talking about placement in the manual.

    [​IMG]
    (Source: REL T/x manual)

    The manual linked above also includes instructions on how to wire the high-level inputs for differential mono block setups (with both mono & stereo subs). I don't know how generalizable the instructions are to other brands.
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    This comes from some HT and AV folks, the sub-tribes of ASR, where the lowest possible distortion is desirable. It makes sense for movies where the sub is playing real sub-bass frequencies that will hit 100db+.

    For music, I feel it's desirable for a sub to possess the distortion characteristics of the amplifier powering the mains for best integration. Subs more easily stick out more like a sore thumb with music compared to movies. The "REL method" is not kool-aid, nor is it exclusively a method that belongs to REL.
     
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    Last edited: Oct 31, 2022
  14. blisteringblather

    blisteringblather New

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    A few months ago I finally got to hear the AHB2 at home. Note that my main speaker load is a satellite, true 90 dB, natural cutoff around 75 Hz, 8/6 ohm nominal/minimum, benign phase angles. The bass system is a state of the art distributed array. This is an easier load than average.

    AB test AHB2 vs. two patented Class D mono blocks, $5500/pr SRP: AHB2 had more musical detail and for lack of a better term seemed to sound more linear. But that was it. In every other parameter, no contest the Class D smoked the AHB2. The background/silence between notes was far more black. Spatial qualities no contest, image density and especially the biggest advantage was pure musicality.
     
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2022
  15. blisteringblather

    blisteringblather New

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    I would say AHB2 sounded "sterile" and not in any good way.
     
  16. blisteringblather

    blisteringblather New

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    Thank you for posting that. I tend to agree 100% with your comments Re. AHB2 which I owned for a few weeks then sold.
     
  17. blisteringblather

    blisteringblather New

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    IMO the best potential application for AHB2 may be mixing/recording where the user wants maximum linearity/accuracy and maximum fine detail. Beyond that it's a dud for my personal listening pleasure.

    So glad I finally got to hear it myself at home.
     
  18. blisteringblather

    blisteringblather New

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    Dam, I gotta hear the Tyr.

    Interesting that I heard Mc MC275 tube amp > KEF original LS50 and was shocked how dead overall the sound was. Maybe the LS just really needs a lot more current and voltage (esp. the former) than the 275 can deliver.
     
  19. GoldenYear

    GoldenYear New

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    After 30 days of Tyr ownership and daily listening, my impressions in my previous posts remain the same: this is an extraordinary amp. But at the risk of stating the obvious, your entire chain matters materially in the overall performance you can hope to get from the Tyr.

    Case in point: In the Freya+ preamp, I've been rolling with a matched quad of GE 6SN7GTB tubes, which I've listened to for over 25 days straight. These are good tubes objectively, with low microphonics and good detail upon which I based my initial impressions of the Tyr. Last week, I acquired a matched pair of RCA 5692 NOS tubes which I now use in the voltage gain stage alongside two of the GE.

    Even without a week of A/B comparisons, the improved bass extension and separation was immediately obvious, and delivered an overall impression that Tyrs were capable of drawing out even more detail if your components are good enough. Are the additional details in this case worth $350? I'm not sure. But you can be sure that Tyr's holistic performance is likely only as good as your weakest link.
     
  20. AdvanTech

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    And if you really want to hear what your Tyrs can do, put the Freya+ in JFET mode.
     

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